The United States said for the first time on Wednesday that it had seen evidence that North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine, a move that could mark a significant escalation in Russia’s war against its neighbor.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking in Rome, said it would be “very, very serious” if the North Koreans were preparing to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine, as Kyiv has alleged. But he said it remained to be seen what they would be doing there.
“There is evidence that there are DPRK troops in Russia,” Austin told reporters, using North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Speaking to reporters later on Wednesday White House spokesperson John Kirby said the United States believes at least 3,000 North Korean troops are undergoing training at three military bases in eastern Russia.
The U.S. determined the North Korean soldiers were transported by ship in early-to-mid October from North Korea’s Wonsan region to the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok before being taken to three military training sites in eastern Russia, said Kirby.
The Ukraine conflict broke out when Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022 and has since developed into a war of attrition largely fought along front lines in eastern Ukraine, with huge numbers of casualties on both sides.
The United States said the alleged North Korean deployment could be further evidence that the Russian military was having problems with manpower.
The Kremlin has previously dismissed Seoul’s claims about the North’s troop deployment as “fake news” and a North Korean representative to the United Nations in New York called it “groundless rumors” at a meeting on Monday.
Both Moscow and Pyongyang have also denied weapons transfers, but they have pledged to boost military ties and signed a mutual defense treaty at a summit in June.
The latest numbers came after Seoul’s National Intelligence Service said on Friday the North had sent some 1,500 special forces personnel to Russia by ship and they were likely to be deployed for combat in the war in Ukraine after training and acclimatization.
